Welcome back to Frequent Flyer Fridays — your weekly newsletter from the Iowa Democratic Party, bringing you the latest updates on everything Kansas’ favorite frequent flyer Zach Lahn is up to.
This week, Zach Lahn came under fire for refusing to take questions from reporters and concerned Iowans at his first — and only — public event since the primary and for blocking Iowans on social media. New information about Kim Reynolds’ taxpayer-funded personal plane also raised questions about Lahn’s frequent travel to Kansas.
Let’s get into it.
📍 Where was Kansas carpetbagger Zach Lahn this week? Stop us if you’ve heard this before — no one knows because he has zero events on his public schedule.
💨 Not-so-artful dodger: Lahn refuses to take questions at first public campaign event over a month after the primary
After spending the first month of the general election in hiding, Kansas carpetbagger and career political operative Zach Lahn finally held his first campaign event. However, Lahn refused to take questions from reporters and concerned Iowa citizens, continuing to avoid answering basic questions about where he lives and how much time he spends in Iowa.
What they’re reading about Lahn ducking and dodging questions from Iowans:
- Bleeding Heartland: “Lahn took no questions from the audience or the journalists who were on hand. So I’m not calling this a ‘town hall’ …. You have no idea whether he’s giving the same answer to everyone.”
- The Gazette: “Lahn did not take questions from reporters after the event or from attendees.”
- Tama-Toledo News Chronicle: “Due to cited time concerns, no press questions were taken.”
Since the primary, Lahn has skipped candidate forums and praised Kim Reynolds’ failed legacy — but has not told Iowans how he plans to adjust his current living situation if he’s elected in November. Lahn even told Iowans that it’s none of their business and that the eventual arrangement will be between him and his wife.
✈️ Lahn plane: Reynolds’ taxpayer-funded personal travel raises new questions about Lahn’s commute to Kansas
The Des Moines Register reported that Kim Reynolds’ $4.7 million state-owned plane — which she used for campaign travel on the taxpayers’ dime — has cost Iowans “about $1,900 an hour” to operate, and “about $93,100” in total for Reynolds’ personal flights alone.
Now, after Kansas carpetbagger Zach Lahn was exposed for using his private plane to travel weekly between Iowa and Kansas, Reynolds’ taxpayer-funded jetsetting is raising new questions about whether he’d stick Iowans with the bill for his own private plane travel if elected.
- Lahn said he would “be in Iowa as much as humanly possible” if elected, but he has not told Iowans how often he plans to travel back to Kansas — or how much those flights would cost taxpayers.
Iowans deserve to know: After praising everything Reynolds has done, does Lahn plan to follow her lead by using her multi-million-dollar state plane for his personal travel? How much will Iowa taxpayers be stuck paying for Lahn’s weekly commute between Iowa and Kansas?
👨🏻💻 Kansas keyboard warrior: Lahn blocks Iowans on social media with zero events on his public schedule
Instead of showing up and answering questions, Kansas keyboard warrior Zach Lahn spent the week blocking multiple official county party political accounts on social media and fighting with Iowans on Twitter — all while having zero public events on his schedule.
According to Lahn’s campaign website, he has no upcoming events on his public schedule, which he only restored after getting called out for deleting his Events page altogether. It’s no surprise that Lahn refuses to meet with Iowa voters to avoid answering basic questions about where he lives and how much time he actually spends in Iowa.
🐱 Kim Reynolds copycat: Lincoln Dinner reminds Iowans that Lahn is running to continue Reynolds’ failed legacy
Ahead of the Iowa GOP Lincoln Dinner, here’s a reminder that Kansas carpetbagger and career political operative Zach Lahn is running to continue Kim Reynolds’ failed legacy.
Lahn has said he’s “grateful” for everything that Reynolds — the most unpopular governor in the country — has done, and pledged to continue her failed status quo.
- Lahn even said he believes Reynolds “did the right thing” by landing Iowa with a nearly $1.4 billion budget deficit to fund tax breaks for powerful insiders and special interests, dismissing concerns by claiming the economy “will rebound.”
Lahn is apparently “grateful” for the last decade of one-party rule that’s made Iowa:
- The number one state for new cancer growth,
- 27th in the country for education — a new low — and the ninth-worst state for teachers,
- The state with the second highest number of farm bankruptcies,
- 44th for physicians per capita,
- Last in the country for OB-GYNS per capita,
- 44th in the country and last in the Midwest for hourly wages.
Lahn also chose state Rep. Derek Wulf as his running mate — a Big Pesticide insider who voted for the worst parts of Reynolds’ disastrous agenda, including unaccountable private school vouchers, gutting the auditor’s office, and against water quality monitors.
📲 Tweet of the week:
That’s a wrap for this edition of Frequent Flyer Fridays. Thanks for reading, we’ll see you next week.